Team TKIS (Turquoise)
By
Omenforcer
Chapter 3: Midoriya, Arc, and Rose
(One Day Before Initiation, 6:00 P.M., Beacon Academy)
Beacon Academy. The premier school for Huntsmen and Huntresses in training. It's most prominent physical feature was the large clocktower which overviewed the entire campus. It had the basic amenities which one would expect: a cafeteria, library, lecture halls, and dorm rooms. It had various spaces for sparring between students, all under teacher supervision of course. It also had several offsite facilities which could be used for a variety of differing reasons. It also had a gorgeous view, as the academy was built along the edge of a cliff which dropped down into Sodai Lake, a vast body of water which separated Beacon from Vale proper.
And currently, at the top of Beacon Tower, a skinny blonde man in a yellow suit and blue tie stood gazing out the window. "Enjoying the view?" Toshinori turned his head back to see Professor Ozpin, sitting in his chair, turned away from the clock themed desk to look at the Number One Huntsman.
"It is quite beautiful. But no, I'm not. Nezu did love this school but now that he is retired it's kind of crazy" Ozpin sat up from his chair and walked up to the yellow suited huntsman with two coffee mugs.
"It's been quite a while since I've seen you this nervous. Years, in fact." Ozpin extended the mug in his left arm to Toshinori, who graciously accepted. Ozpin looked out the window, slowly drinking from his mug.
"Well, Initiation has always been a big day. And considering the pool of potential students this year, I'd say this could be a lot bigger than usual."
"True. Speaking of the current pool, how is your successor doing?" Toshinori looked down at his mug and sighed.
"His training has been rushed. He's only had his Aura unlocked for two weeks, and his combat skills will put him a sizable amount behind most of the other candidates. But, I think he's got what it takes to pass."
"Are you sure you want him to participate? I could have him transfer in later in the year when he's more prepared. It certainly wouldn't be the first time."
"No," Toshinori responded with no hesitation. "He'd never accept taking the easy way out. He's worked hard for almost a year now so he can compete with the rest of the students at Beacon. He needs to know all that work has been worth it." Ozpin smiled at Toshinori's words.
"Well if that's true then I have no doubt you've chosen the right person for the job. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I have a speech to prepare for." Ozpin turned away and walked towards the elevator at the far side of the room. Toshinori looked out the window, seeing several massive airships, large enough to carry hundreds of people at a time, bringing in the students for tomorrow's Initiation. The skeletal Huntsman smiled, anticipating what tomorrow would bring.
'You're gonna do great, Young Midoriya…'
Same Day, Same Time
"Izuku, do you have everything?"
"Yes I do Mom." He replied as he tied the laces on his large red shoes.
"Are you sure? You packed clothes, hankies, and school supplies? Please don't tell me you have nothing but Toshinori memorabilia in there." Inko asked, her ears twitching on top of her head.
"I have everything Mom. I've got to go now or I'll miss the airship." He picked up his bag and sat on his back on his way to the door.
"Izuku!" His mother called out.
"What?" He looked back at her to see she was eyeing him with both pride and worry in her eyes.
Inko looked at her son with pride in her eyes, and said to him, "You look cool right now. I'm proud of you."
Izuku walked and hugged his mother, "I love you too. I'll visit you during the holidays!"
They both let go and he walked out the door. He closed it behind a little sadness. Light wasn't too far away from his home so he lived here for all his life. It was a little disheartening that he wouldn't be able to visit his mother as often anymore.
(On an airbus to Beacon Academy)
Izuku stood alone on the airship, looking around at his possible colleagues for the next four years.
'Everyone here looks so much cooler than I do.I don't stand a chance!'. He thought as he looked at everyone's outfits. He preferred him more down to earth.
He was wearing his green vest button with five gold buttons on top of a white button up shirt, He wore pine green jeans held up by a red utility belt filled with first aid, ammo, and other rations. His shoes were his favorite high top red sneakers reinforced with a few metal plates on the heels. He also had green fingerless gloves painted with black details.
'Everyone else here looks really strong… and the weapons I can see look like they've undergone a lot of use…' Izuku looked down at his hands. 'I've only had my aura unlocked for two weeks, and only a month of use with my weapons. Not to mention that I haven't gotten the chance to try out One For All properly yet…' Unfortunately for Izuku, Toshinori had told him not to try using his newfound semblance just yet. Though his body was in a state in which it could hold One For All, there would still be some "kickback" which made it too dangerous to test out at Dagoba Lake, as they didn't have the proper equipment to deal with it. Instead, the two focused on training Izuku with his weapons and getting him accustomed to his newfound aura. Izuku brought his left hand up to his face, holding his chin.
'They probably won't let the initiates into any training rooms until they pass initiation so I doubt I'll have any time to train while I'm there so the most logical idea would be for me to figure out exactly what the Initiation will consist of but the schools change up their initiation in some way every year Vacuo's initiation was three days ago and from what I've heard it consisted of a tournament where those who performed well enough passed so could that help me figure out what the Beacon one wi-.'
"Shut up, Deku." Izuku almost jumped out of his seat after being called out for his muttering. He looked to his right to see his old "friend", Katsuki Bakugo, sitting a few seats away from him. Each student applying for Beacon Academy was assigned a seat to sit on the airship and, as it would happen, Izuku and Katsuki were placed right next to each other. Luckily, most of the seats to the right of Bakugo were unoccupied, so there was at least a small gap between them.
"S-sorry, Kacchan". black sleeveless jacket that was red on the inside black sleeveless v-neck tank top with a wolf head with an orange X, a black hand grenade held in the mouth of the wolf. chest with the top of it bordering his v-neck. His black pants are a bit baggy and go into his red and black armored combat boots. blond hair with his ears popping out the top.
A hologram TV was playing news on a few subjects currently going through Vale. The first was about the mass criminal, Roman Torchwick. He was caught stealing dust from a store called 'Dust at dawn' when a huntress in training and an actual huntress stepped up to the plate. He got away but his goons were now in the nearest precinct prison cells.
The next topic was about faunas rights demonstrations but it was cut halfway through for a new one. Izuku should have figured as much but he was still a little upset about it.
The new hologram was a message from one of the school's many instructors. He had recognized her as Glynda Goodwitch "Hello and welcome to Beacon." The hologram greeted the students abroad.
"Who's that?" Some girl in the crowd asked. Izuku was about to answer but the hologram bet him to it.
"My name is Glynda Goodwitch." Izuku guessed right.
"Oh." The new girl said, now having received their answer.
"You are among the privileged few that have been selected to attend our prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and it is your duty to uphold it. You shall soon be required to demonstrate the courage and prowess befitting such a task, and it will be our duty to provide you with the knowledge and training to protect our world." The hologram finished its speech before fading out.
Izuku was shaken from his thoughts when he saw the view. He rushed over to the window, wanting to see more of it. The city of Vale was beautiful. The shops were bustling with early bird shoppers, and the streets were just starting to fill with people. It was a marvelous sight, even if he couldn't see the people clearly.
The sight was then ruined when a man pushed past Izuku and proceeded to hurl in the nearest trash can. Well, guess the view wasn't for everyone.
"Ew ew ew ew ew ew. So gross. SO GROSS." The blond girl from earlier seemed to be unlucky enough to get some on her shoe.
"Attention all passengers, please retrieve your carry-on bags and prepare to depart from the aircraft. Thank you for using Adel Airlines, where our currency is our customer's satisfaction." The pilot's voice cut off from the loudspeaker and Izuku was still a little nervous on his first day. Nevermind little nervous, he was sweating through his clothes. He quickly grabbed his new blue backpack.
He waited a few more minutes as the ship aligned itself with the docks. The doors then opened before him. The academy behind it was so large, Izuku thought he wouldn't be able to see the top of the clock tower at the heart of the school. He then stepped off the airship, ready to finally begin his new life as a huntsman in training.
'Okay, Izuku. You have trained with Toshinori for this moment. This is my first step to my new life.' He thought to himself.
And then he promptly tripped over the edge of the bridge.
'Or I could just fall flat face first.' He prepared a handspring back onto his feet.
At least, that's what should've happened. Instead, he felt someone touch his backpack and he stopped about halfway from the ground. Naturally, he freaked out and tried to get himself back. "You okay there?" A voice said as they pulled him back down. Izuku turned to look at the person who'd helped him, and was left speechless. The girl was fair-skinned, with purple eyes and dark golden hair that was pale gold at the tips. She had a tan jacket that showed off a portion of her stomach with short, puffy sleeves with black cuffs that featured two gold buttons. She also wore a low cut yellow crop top with an emblem of a flaming heart on the left breast in black. She also wore a brown belt covered by a pleated brown piece of material reaching from hip to hip around the back of her waist, with the emblem on her jacket emblazoned on the right-most pleat in gold, and a pair of golden bracelets sat motionless on her wrists. Underneath this is a longer, white, asymmetrical piece of material reaching to her knee on the right side, as well as a pair of black mini-shorts. She had brown, knee-high boots and orange over-the-knee socks, with the right sock pushed down just below the knee. A lavender bandana was tied around her left knee. An orange infinity scarf and black fingerless gloves completed her outfit.
'Oh gods, she's really beautiful!' Izuku thought to himself.
Not seeming to notice that Izuku hadn't answered her question, the girl continued, "I thought it would be bad luck if you fell on our first day here. If you can stand up straight, you'll be alright.i gotta catch up with my sister now. See Ya round!" The girl then runs over to the girl with the red cloak he sees on the airship, likely the sister she'd mentioned earlier, despite the fact that the two look nothing alike.
Then his eyes lit up with sparkles as he smiled brightly with a blush on his face. 'I JUST TALKED TO A GIRL!' he screamed in his mind.
Notice how he didn't really say anything.
And the moment was yet again ruined by none other than vomit boy retching it out in a trashcan on the docks. Seeming as he didn't want to just leave him here alone, Izuku walked up to him at the trashcan as he was taking deep breaths. Why? He didn't know anyone else, and he had nothing to lose.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
The other boy turned to him and gave him the thumbs up. "I'm good. Just a little motion sick."
'A little he says' Izuku said out in his thoughts.
"Thanks for the concern. I'm Jaune Arc. It's short, sweet, rolls off the tongue and the ladies love it." He gave out his hand to Izuku.
"Izuku Midoriya. Come on, we should head to the auditorium,"He replied. 'Do they really though?' He questioned in his head.
The two were walking down the ridiculously long pathway to the school. Taking in the sights and still sweating through their clothes. Then they heard from further up the pathway and looked up to find three girls in a crater having a bad mouth conversation by the looks of annoyance and anger on one of their faces.
The first one is a pale skinned young girl with pale blue eyes and long white hair pulled back into an off-center bun tail and pinned with an icicle shaped tiara. A crooked scar runs vertically down her left eye. She wears a thigh-length strapless dress with a faint color gradation from white to pale blue at the hem. A small piece of black lace sits in the front of her neckline and the hem of the dress is scalloped and stitched to resemble snowflakes, with layers of white tulle under the skirt. Over this she wears a bell sleeved bolero with the same color gradation as her dress from shoulder to wrist, lined in red and with a ruffled collar. On the back of the bolero is the crest of the Schnee family, a dust conglomerate known for it's mistreatment of faunas workers and it's questioning partners. She left in a huff after grabbing a bottle from the second one before walking away.
The second girl is a fair skinned young girl with amber eyes and long black hair. A ribbon is tied with a large bow on the top of her head. She wears purple eyeshadow in catseye style. She wears a black buttoned vest with coattails and a single silver button on the front. Underneath this is a white, sleeveless, high necked, crop undershirt and white shorts with a zipper on the front of each leg. She also wears black low-heeled boots and full stockings with a color gradation of black to purple at her ankles. An emblem is visible on the outside of both thighs just below her shorts in white. On her left arm is a detached sleeve with a silver cuff around her bicep, and black ribbons are wrapped around both forearms. A small, loose scarf is wrapped around her neck and a gray magnetic backpack is strapped to her back, hidden by her hair. She also walked away when the third girl turned around to talk to her.
And of course Ruby who crumpled to the ground with a sad and lonely look on her face. Izuku knew that face because he's worn that face. He looked to Jaune and they both nodded to each other. They couldn't let her be this down in the dumps and began to walk over to her.
"Hey" Ruby then turns to him and Izuku asks. "Are you alright? We saw what happened earlier. It seemed like that girl was about to tear into you pretty hard"
"I'm fine i'm just not good at dealing with people" Izuku noited She was definitely younger than him and Jaune but izuku also Realize she was with the blonde girl back on the ship
"You'll get used to it eventually. I mean,that's how it works". Jaune said
"I… wouldn't count on that happening anytime soon" She said to the boys before turning her attention back to Izuku, extending her hand and introducing herself "am Ruby Rose"
"M-My name's Izuku Midoriya." Izuku brought out his hand in front of him, which the girl looked at, pondering if she should shake it.
" I'm Jaune." She took his hand and stood back up. She looked at him before her face scrunched up in recognition.
"Aren't you the boy who vomited on the ship?"
"Yes he is." Izuku answered her question for her.
(Same Day, Same Time, Beacon Private Airship Landing Zone)
To the right of the main Beacon Airship docks was a smaller set of docks for smaller ships to land. Currently, no ships were docked, with the only one scheduled to do so today about to dock into port. The ship was a Luxury Bullhead, being larger than most and having a small section with beds, making it more useful for long distance travel. The inside was also far nicer, with comfortable benches and a small pantry.
"So Shoto, are you excited? You're finally gonna learn to be a Huntsman now."
"You say that like today's my first day of training, Sis." Currently, the sole resident onboard the airship, with the exception of the pilot, was a teen by the name of Shoto Todoroki. His hair was split in color, the right side being completely white, and the left practically blood red. His eyes were hetero-chronic, the right eye a dull gray and his left a sharp vivid blue with a burn scar surrounding it. The outfit he wore was a simple black zip up jacket with the sleeves pulled up to his elbows, on his right side a blue patch on his left was a red patch, a white shirt a Beowolf tooth necklace , black shorts with a blue belt a red strap and two containers a pier reinforced black with white lines going down the middle blue bottom for the right and red bottom for the left a blue sock for the right and red for the left to complete the outfit. On the back of his jacket was a fire and ice Yin Yang Symbol with a blue ring surrounding it.
"I know, but still, isn't it great! You'll be at an actual academy instead of training at home. And you'll get to meet a bunch of new people!"
"The academy will be nice, but I'm indifferent on the presence of others."
"Aww, come on, I'm sure you'll make some new friends, especially once you get assigned to a team."
"Right." Despite Shoto's affirmative response, it was clear that he wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of being on a team. Looking out the window and seeing the ship was close to landing, Shoto got up and walked back into the area where he'd slept on the way to Beacon.
"Well... if you forgot anything, let me know and I'll send it over to you as soon as I can."
"Will do, Fuyumi. The ship's about to dock. I'll message you after Initiation is over." Shoto picked up his pre-packed duffle bag and slung it over his left shoulder. He looked over to the other side of the room, a large briefcase sitting on his bed. He walked over to it and opened it up to inspect its contents.
It contained a set of pistol-swords! The first one is a dark grey rectangular-shaped rifle with a blade attachment on the underside of the barrel, extending past the muzzle and curving downward. The next one was an icy blue and black magnum Revolver blade also attachment on the underside of the barrel pointed up as Frostfire, Shoto did not have such sentiments. He would have, had it been a gift from anyone except the person who had given it to him. Shoto closed the case and grabbed it in his right hand, walking back out towards the exit of the room.
"Ok… well, I'll talk to you later I guess. And Shoto… if you ever need to talk to me, or Natsuo… please, don't hesitate." Shoto paused at his sister's words, his eyes eventually settling their gaze on the only mirror in the room, specifically on the reflection of his scar.
"Love you, Sis." Fuyumi sighed at the lack of response, though she truly didn't expect a straightforward response from her younger brother.
"Love you too, Shoto. And please, do try to make some friends." As Shoto put his Scroll in his pocket, the hull doors began to open up. With a quick thanks to the pilot, he was off the ship and began his walk down the path. We made his way to the amphitheater briskly, hoping not to attract any attention from those who might recognize just who he was, or rather, who his father was.
'I don't want anything to do with that bastard.'
(five minutes later, elsewhere in Beacon)
"I'm just saying that motion sickness is a lot more common than people let on," Jaune said as he explained his family curse to Ruby and Izuku as they walked throughout Beacon.
"I'm sorry. Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind when I saw you." Ruby apologized.
"It actually is pretty common. A good percentage get it on vehicles. Even my mom does." Izuku threw in his two cents.
"Ya see? And what if I called you crater face? Would that be very polite?" Jaune remarked back to Ruby.
"Hey! That explosion was an accident, and it was hardly even my fault." Ruby shouted.
"How did it happen then?" Izuku asked curiously.
"The heiress girl in white kept shaking this dust bottle at me, and then I sneezed and then the explosion happened and... you probably know the rest," Ruby said as she went from angry to depressed in a matter of seconds.
"So, the full name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it." Jaune tried saying in a suave manner.
"... Do they?" Ruby asked with sarcasm in her voice.
"That's what I thought." Izuku was thankful he wasn't alone on this one as his poor social skills couldn't tell him.
"T-they will. At least, I hope they will. I mean, my mom always says that... nevermind." Jaune said as the conversation rolled into an uncomfortable silence.
Ruby, being the person that she was, decided to break it by discussing the subject that she was best at. Weapons.
"So... got this thing." Was all she said as she brought out a compressed piece of metal from behind her back before it unraveled into a large black and red mechanical scythe. Jaune and Izuku backed away in surprise, not knowing how a weapon that big could be hidden so easily.
"Whoa! Is that a scythe?" Jaune asked, surprise very evident in his voice.
"It's also a customizable, high-impact sniper rifle." Ruby held it up in a showcase fashion.
"A what?" Jaune asked in confusion, obviously not dealing with guns that much in his life.
"It's also a gun." Izuku then answered simply.
"Oh. That's cool!" Jaune said.
""What about yours, Izuku?" Ruby asked with more sparkles in her eyes. How could this small girl be so into weapons? No one really knew the answer to that probably.
"O-oh...they're nothing really all that special compared to what you guys got but...well, Cloud Avalanche are fine for me I guess" Jaune arched an eyebrow as he watched Izuku set down the case. Ruby , with an excited look at seeing a potentially new weapon as he popped open a case and immediately set the upgraded weapons up on his arms, leaving the boots inside of the case. When he settled them Izuku took a steady breath as he deactivated the safeties on the weapon, whereupon he gave a bit of a forceful shove with both arms.
Immediately the mechanisms within Cloud Avalanche tripped into action. Izuku opened his hand as best he could so that the handles from the underside of the gauntlets could slip right into his grip. They're just small enough that the fist he'd make won't break his fingers when he threw a punch… Well, before he actually got a semblance and got into Toshinori's training program, he was too weak to actually handle the full brunt of the kickback from these. The next pump shotgun itself slid into view as it carved right over his arms, almost like a cannon. The entire color scheme fit together well with the name and, having fully exposed the machinery, he flipped the safeties back on.
"It's… well, it's just a pump shotgun integrated into some gauntlets and bracers and some armored boots. Nothing really all that fancy, just that whenever i punch-"
"The force of the blow will trip the shotgun's mechanisms, reloading them and firing them so that you can add a bit more bang to your punch." Ruby recited almost verbatim as he blinked slightly in surprise. She knew that his weapons were simple but he still didn't think they'd be that easy to pick apart. Perhap noticing his slight dip in demeanor, Ruby chunkles as she waves him off. "Oh, don't worry I didn't just pick it up from looking at 's like Yang's Ember Celiac works very similarly. Though she didn't go for the gauntlet and bracer design she went hands really well. I bet you barely feel any of the kickback, the mechanism or the brunt of the blow! Yang had to start wearing gloves because after a while even her Aura would get exhausted from protecting her hands from all the punches she'd throw! You circumvented that right there… and built in a pretty handy stabilizer to keep the recoil from throwing you off". He couldn't help but smile a bit as listened to his weapon get complimented. Honestly, he'd made these partially to help feel like Toshinori; the blast of the shotguns giving him visions of performing his own 'Smashes' when he was younger. Everything else was just to compensate for him not having Aura and not being as strong as other kids in the program.
Though he kept that bit to himself.
"So cool! The details put into it are beautiful! Why didn't you show them to me sooner?! Oh, what's your weapon, Jaune?" Ruby exclaimed as she rushed over to him, swooning over his weapon.
"Oh! I, uh…" Jaune reached down to his left hip and pulled out a silver longsword with a golden crossguard and a blue hilt. "I got this sword!"
"Ohhhh!"
"Yeah, and I've got a shield, too!" He grabbed the scabbard with his left hand, which expanded into a shield with a symbol of two golden crescents on them.
"So what do they…" Before Ruby could finish asking, she and Jaune turned to see Izuku, writing furiously in a notebook.
"It'salongswordpairedwithashieldwhichsimultaneouslyactsasit'ssheathwhichcreatesconvenienceincarryingbutitdoesn'treallyworkextremelywellatrangesoitwillrequiretheabilitytoclosethedistancebetweentheuserandthetargetbuttheshieldcouldhelppreventamorerangedtargetfromdealingmajordamagebeforeyoucouldgetinto-" Izuku looked up to see Jaune and Ruby looking at him. With a massive blush on his face, he quickly shoved his notebook into his yellow backpack.
"U-U-Uh, yeah! Y-Your s-sword's really cool, Jaune!" Izuku said while furiously scratching the back of his head. Ruby began laughing to herself while Jaune blinked at what he'd just seen.
"Uhhh, thanks. Crocea Mors was actually used by my great-great-grandfather during the Great War."
"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me." Ruby said. "Well I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."
"Yeah, the classics..." Jaune responded.
"I take a lot of pride in it. Took me a while to make, but they're still awesome." Izuku declared no evidence of his earlier sweating nervousness.
"Wait, you made those?!" Jaune shouted in genuine surprise.
"Well yeah, of course we made our own weapons. Most people who attend colleges like this do. Didn't you make yours?" Ruby asked, staring at Jaune.
"Excuse me!" The trio all stopped after being yelled at and turned to where they heard the voice coming from. They looked about ten yards away to see a tall boy looking at them. He had blue and trimmed neatly. The glasses he wore and his eyes both were more wore a piece of silver-colored armor chest plate and symmetrical design Runners boot with Silver lightning streak behind it. on the back of it, over a long sleeved midnight blue shirt and white dress pants. His greaves were the same color as his armor, though they for all their design suggested flexibility more than anything else. His blue eyes combined with his massive physique, seemed to indicate a naturally born live combat strategist.
."The Beacon Academy Initiate's Guidebook clearly states that all Initiates must keep their weapons stowed until Initiation begins! It is disrespectful to blatantly ignore this rule! Please return your weapons to their respective holsters at once!" All three members of the trio looked to one another, then looked back towards the blue-haired boy.
"There's a Guidebook?" Izuku asked. The blue haired boy blinked in response.
"Of course there's a Guidebook! Beacon Academy is one of the foremost institutions in all of Remnant. For them to not have some sort of guide for potential students would be incredibly unbecoming!" As the boy spoke, his arms moved in a robotic manner, weirding out the trio he was scolding.
"Ok, sorry about that." After Jaune's apology, the three of them put away their weapons. Ruby placed Crescent Rose hack on her belt, Izuku pressed the buttons on his gauntlets and took out the Dust Disks, and Jaune returned his sword to his side, though he fumbled with the shield a bit.
"Thank you very much." The boy said, before turning and walking away.
"Well" Ruby scratched the back of her head, "that guy was… interesting. So, why'd you help me out back there?" Ruby brought up the topic of how they met.
"Eh, why not. My mom always said, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet." Jaune answered.
'Not if you're me that is.' Izuku thought in, his head hung a little.
"Anyways, do you have any idea where we are?" Ruby brought up.
"I dunno. I was following you." Jaune shrugged. Both of them looked at Izuku.
"Hey! I'm new here too!" He held his hands up in defense.
They started to look around for anything that looked like a landmark, only to find that the bridge was the only landmark around, and the one that they actually needed to find.
"You think we could find a directory." Jaune suggested.
(Auditorium)
When they finally managed to find where they had to go, they entered the auditorium of Beacon, a plethora of students of different ethnicities, cultures, races, and classes in this large, yet somehow tight feeling room.
"Hey, Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" They heard, as Izuku looked over to his left, he saw the blonde girl that had saved him from the trip to the infirmary earlier. But as soon as he caught sight of her, she vanished into the crowd, and Ruby along with her.
"H-hey! Wait up!" Jaune called after them in vain, as they were already gone. "Great. Now where am I supposed to find a nice, quirky person to talk to?"
"Do I not count?" Izuku stated sadly as he pointed to himself.
"You do. I meant another nice, quirky girl to talk to. I'm gonna try and go find her. I'll see you later tonight, Izuku.
"My thoughts exactly." Izuku responded
The two then split up, looking for Ruby and her sister through the literal sea of students. What they didn't notice was a red haired girl with green eyes looking over at Jaune.
Izuku began after Jaune and Ruby, however, they were so far into the crowd by this point that he had trouble tracking them down. After several seconds of searching he eventually found Ruby and her sister.
"So, how's your day been going lil sis?" the blonde asked
"You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?" Ruby responded
"Whoa. Meltdown already"
This was when Izuku decided it was time to intervene."Actually, according to her, it was literal."
"Seriously," The blonde girl said before recognizing Izuku. "Hey, you're the curly hair guy I saved from the trip to the infirmary so you're gonna introduce yourself handsome ~?."
"Y-yeah. I-I'm I-I-Izuku M-Midoriya. It's nice to meet you you're actually taller than me. I could have sworn we were the same height earlier " Izuku hesitantly extended his hand to the blonde, who graciously accepted it and said.
Izuku stuttered causing Yang to laugh a little 'A little bit flustered? It's going to fun be teasing him' " Yang xiao long call me Yang pleasure mine and am about half an inch."... Xiao Long? Where have I heard those names before...
... Holy woah.
HOLY WOAH!
Were these two related to members of Team STRQ?
"Wait Xiao long?,as in Taiyang xiao long "
"Yep he's our dad"
"That's so cool! I mean,I know that he's one of the best martial artists in Anima, and I even based a few of my own combos on some of his stuff, not to mention the fact that he was on Team STRQ!I think iremeberwhereiheardoperatedinValebutwasrenownedtheworldoverforhisskills!andhissemblanceissocool-"
"Izuku, you're rambing again," Ruby pointed out.
Izuku suddenly stopped his rambling when both girls wide-eyed with her mouth slightly open while looking totally unphased.
"Oh gods,Sorry." Izuku said as his hands fell to his mouth out of reflex.
"Nah, it's fine. I actually think it's kinda neat."Yang said in an attempt to save face.
"Can we get back to the part about me exploding now?" Ruby commented clear her throat.
"Yeah, did that happen exactly?" Yang said,now turning her attention back to Ruby, as did Izuku, who didn't really know the specifics of what happened.
"Well i tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then start yelling and then she shook this bottle at me and then i sneezed, and then i exploded, and she yelled again, and i felt really bad and i wanted her to stop yelling at me-"
"YOU"
"Oh gods it happening again" Ruby yelled before jumping in her sister's arms in a rather cartoonish manner. The girl is a pale skinned young girl with pale blue eyes and long white hair pulled back into an off-center bun tail and pinned with an icicle shaped tiara. A crooked scar runs vertically down her left eye. She wears a thigh-length strapless dress with a faint color gradation from white to pale blue at the hem. A small piece of black lace sits in the front of her neckline and the hem of the dress is scalloped and stitched to resemble snowflakes, with layers of white tulle under the skirt. Over this she wears a bell sleeved bolero with the same color gradation as her dress from shoulder to wrist, lined in red and with a ruffled collar. On the back of the bolero is the crest of the Schnee family, a dust conglomerate known for it's mistreatment of faunas workers and it's questioning partners.
"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" She began to berate Ruby a second time.
"Oh my gods you really exploded" Yang muttered as her eyes widened at the prospect other sister potentially being blown to bits fully hit her.
"I told you it was literal." Izuku in, still wanting to be a part of the conversation.
"It was an accident." Ruby said to Yung in a calm voice before rolling out of her arms and looking at the girl in white, rather hastily repeating, "It was an accident."
The girl then whipped out a book and held it in front of Ruby, titled Dust for Dummies, other Inadequate individuals. Ruby, not really knowing why the girl was showing her the book,asked,"what's this"
"The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries sustained while operating a Schnee Dust CompanyproductalthoughnotmandatorytheSchneefamilyhighlyencouragesthericustomerstoreadthiseasytofollowguidetoDustapplicationinnthefield," She responded, her words beginning to blend together so quickie that even Izuku, who did this on regular basis, could barely understand what she was saying. Ruby, not being able to keep up at all , let out a confused,"Uuum…"
"Do you really want to start making things up to me?" The girl asked, still holding the book in front of Ruby.
"Absolutely?"
"Then read this and never speak to me again" She said, practically forcing it into Ruby's hands.
Izuku and Yang, who both decided that Ruby should at least not have to suffer through the crabby girl's tantrum anymore, tried stepping in and suggesting a different approach. Yang began by saying. "Hay look, it seems like you two got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?"
"We'll be here for emotional support!" Izuku said a little too enthusiastically, though the girls didn't seem to notice.
"Yeah! Great idea guys'' Ruby extended her hand to the girl in whit. "Hello Weiss. I'm Ruby. wanna hang out? We could go shopping for school supplies."
"Yeah, and we can paint our nails, try on clothes, and talk about boys like tall, blonde and... scraggly over there. Or maybe even green and... curly right here." The now named Weiss replied with so much sarcasm that even Izuku could hear it.
Ruby didn't seem to notice at all, and excitedly asked "Really?!"
Weiss was silent for several seconds before replying again with a very firm "No." There would be no changing her mind.
"Wow, sarcasm much" Yang asked Weiss the rather obvious question.
Izuku nodded with Yang's question, though before their conversation could headmaster Ozpin stepped out onto the stage and began his speech.
"I'll... keep this brief. You have come here in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you are finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you and all I see is wasted energy. In need of purpose. Direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."
Ozpin then left the stage and Ms. Goodwitch took over from there. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight at no later than eight o'clock. Your Initiation shall begin tomorrow. You are dismissed."
"He seemed kinda... off," Yang said in an unsure tone.
"Like he wasn't even up there." Ruby seemingly continued. Probably would have said more if they hadn't heard some sort of incoherent mumbling coming from their left and turned to see Izuku deep in his thoughts with his hand on his chin.
"HisSpeechWasn'tReallyOnemeantforstudentsitwasonemeantforasoldiermoreorless. Thenagainhuntsmenaremoreorlessaformofspecialoperationssoit'snothardtobelievethat. Heprobablywasmostlikelypointingitouttothelotofthestudentsinherethatjustwanttobethe nextbigthingGettingridoftheweak-willedcouldsavealotoflivesofthosenotreadytofully committoallofthisButstillthat'sBeaconAcademyforyo-"
"Is he always like this?" asked Weiss
Brought out of his inner thoughts, Izuku promptly blushed, saying, "I-it was nothing, really. Just an observation."
"DEKU!" He heard his insult of a nickname spoken by a sickeningly familiar voice.
"I Gotta Run Bey!" Izuku hastily managed to put together before he started running away from his dire wolf bully leaving the girls confused and Jaune alone and confused.
He looked over to the girls and sought to introduce himself to the snow angel from before with one of his pick up lines. "I'm a natural blonde, ya know."
Weiss facepalmed in frustration at the entire situation and walked away.
(five minutes later, elsewhere in Beacon)
Katsuki pushed Izuku to the wall, hard. By the look in his eyes he was angry beyond all belief. Why? Why was this Deku here?
"I TOLD YOU NOT TO FUCKING APPLY YET I FIND YOU HERE! NOW WHY IS THAT? HUH DEKU! I'M THE ONLY ONE FROM OUR CRAP DUMP OF A SCHOOL SUPPOSED TO BE HERE YET YOU'RE HERE! DO YOU WANT TO DIE YOU WANNABE!" He raged.
"Kacchan..." Izuku said lowly.
"WHAT?!" He screamed back.
Katsuki was surprised that Izuku even had the courage to speak as he placed his hands on Katsuki's arm. "S-Someone I looked up to… told me… that I could become a Hunter," As Izuku spoke Katsuki felt the pressure on his arm increase. He turned his attention to Izuku's hands, only to see a aqua green glow shining around them.
'Aura?'
"That's why I applied to Beacon. Why I'm going to become a Hunter." Izuku looked up at Katsuki with a look of determination in his eyes. "Like it or not, I'll be a Hunter, and you can't stop me!" Katsuki looked at Izuku with anger and shock, not believing what he'd just seen. He let go of Izuku and turned around, taking a few steps away, while Izuku recomposed himself, wiping away the sweat from his face, and preparing for whatever was about to happen. Katsuki stood there for what felt like an eternity, his head pointed at the ground. The only thing which broke the silence was the ambient sounds of the forest surrounding them. Eventually, Katsuki took a deep breath and closed his fists.
He ripped himself from the wall and made his way to the auditorium they were supposed to go to for the night.
Katsuki just stood there in shock. He had gone against at times, but not with that determined look in his eyes. He felt his wrist that he gripped. He was never that strong before! He was supposed to be good for nothing Deku! He shook his head angrily. No, he still was Deku. He was stronger than all these shitstains, he'll prove it to them all!
Now with a shove, the ashes blonde direwolf released his prey and promptly turned heel and stomped anyway, stating. "Fine! It's not like having an Aura anyway! Don't come crying to me if you get mauled by a Beowolf!"
Now out of Katsuki's sight, Izuku slumped down, and let out a sigh of relief.'That was way too close. Though he was gonna blow me up again' he shuddered as he remembered the years of bullying he endured with Katsuki. The explosions, the verbal beratement, the actual damage that he'd done to him over so many years.
But I'm not that person anymore. I'm stronger than I was back then! I'll just have to prove it to him
Izuku then got up and started walking out of the corner Katsuki pinned him to. Until he realized something.
'I have no idea where the ballroom is' Izuku throat to himself
"Dudes, I can't believe it, we're going to be sleeping with the girls in the ballroom tonight!"
... What?
"Yeah I was surprised too. Figured that they'd at least put some stuff to keep both sides from seeing each other but man, they're just letting it be tonight. Kinda surprised for such a fancy pants place like this."
What?!
"Yeah dude! This is our opportunity to show off for the ladies~. Maybe if we impress 'em enough we might just be looking to get ourselves some girlfriends from this. Now, tell me honestly, does this shirt make me look buff?"
"You know it man. Come on, let's get out there."... WHAT!?
'Okay, deep breaths Izuku, there's no way that's true right? They wouldn't just shove a bunch of teenage boys and girls into the same room and just leave it like that right?' Izuku thinking to himself
(Beacon Ballroom, 8:30 pm)
Izuku pekes in to the ballroom door and... and he feels himself pale.
No, there it was. Two sides, one side with most of the guys and the other side with most of the girls.
You say most because you can definitely spot some crossover.
Izuku quickly starts sweating bullets he takes a look at the result of your ten months worth of hard work with Toshinori. He seemed impressed with his progress but... well, that opinion didn't count for much when it came to stuff like this. But he did like to show off for girls at the beach whenever he went out for swimming laps.
'Okay, chill, there wasn't any reason to worry right? I mean, you had lots of changes of workout clothes. Sure it might look a little weird to go to sleep in' Izuku thought to him that wasn't too unusual! all the girls in this school were drop dead gorgeous...And most of the guys looked a lot better than he can too.
"Thanks again for find me Jaune" Izuku said now changed wearing a white t-shirt which had "pajamas" written on in black with green sweats
"No problem. I'm always ready to help a friend" Jaune replied, now dressed in a baby blue onesie with a bunny head emblazoned onto his feet.
Jaune said he'd already managed to find a place and had set up his sleeping bag there earlier, so Izuku was left alone. Again. Nearly every space there had already been taken by somebody and the spots were filling up students are splayed out in sleeping bags. He wandered the ballroom when he heard Yang and Ruby's voices nearby.
"I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though".Ruby said
"I know I do!, rawr." Izuku doesn't turn his head to face the sounds of Ruby's or Yang's voice as he hears them Izuku psyched himself up to the point where you're actually out here in just a t-shirt and sweats Izuku managing to pull his through this little show without going absolutely red in the face from embarrassment... but it's taking a lot of focus. Yang was wearing a yellow tank top with her emblem on the front in red, while Ruby wore a black tank top with a heart-shaped Beowolf head,a sleeping mask around her head and long white pants adorned with pink crashes next to her, similarly dressed Ruby did not look up.
"H-hey guys. Do you know if there are any spots left? I've been looking for five minutes straight and i haven't found a single one."
"Izuku!" Ruby exclaimed as she zipped over to ask him "where have you been all day? Was that blonde guy a friend of yours? He didn't look very nice, are you-" The two sisters and the boy noticed a candle being lighted nearby,the cat-like girl from had her signature bow on, but she wore a kimono and held a book in her hand.
"That girl..." Ruby said
"You know her?" Yang asked
"Not really. She saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything" Ruby answered
"Well, now's your chance!" Yang says and grabs Ruby's arm and lifts her up.
"Wait! What are you doing?!" Ruby exclaimed as she was being dragged by her older sister and Ruby grabbed Izuku's arm
"Hellooooooo." Yang said in a rang out "I believe you few have met each other?"
"Aren't you the girl that exploded and you're the word vomit guy".The girl asked
"Uh, yeah. My name's Ruby. But you can just call me crater… ahh… you can just call me Ruby." Izuku knew it was selfish because he was glad he wasn't the only social outcast here.
"And u-uh... my name is Izuku ... nice to meet you." Izuku explained attempts to control his own stuttering.
"I'm Yang. Ruby's older sister. I like your bow. What's your name?" The blonde now known as Yang spoke.
"Blake."
"Nice night huh?" Yang tried giving it one more shot.
"Yes, it's lovely. Almost as lovely as this book. That I will continue to read. After you walk away." Blake sounded more and more like not talking.
"Yea, this girl is a lost cause, let's go Ruby and Izuku." Yang is ready to leave.
"What's it about?" Ruby was looking at her book.
Blake looked befuddled. "Huh?"
"Your book. Does it have a name?" Ruby asked again.
"Well… it's about a man with two souls, each one fighting for control over his body." Blake explained.
"That sounds… real lovely?" Izuku said
"I love books. Yang used to read me stories before going to sleep. About heroes and monsters… they're one of the reasons I wanted to be a Huntress." Ruby reminisced.
"I have a similar reason." Izuku said. He loved stories about the heroes that are Hunstmen and Huntresses. He always loved the ones Toshnori the most.
"Why is that? Hoping to live happily ever after." Blake smiled a bit.
"I'm hoping we all will. As a girl I wanted to be just like the heroes from stories. Someone who fought for what was right, and protected the people who couldn't protect themselves." said Ruby
"I wanted to be a hero that saved people with a smile on his face, like Toshnori. Someone who looked you in the eye and said that everything was going to be okay." Izuku spoke with a smile continuously breaking his features.
"That's very ambitious for kids. However, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tail." Blake said.
"Well, guess that's why we're here/ Well, that's what we're here for." Ruby and Izuku spoke simultaneously and then looked at each other before breaking into a fit of laughter.."Apparently Ruby sent none other than Roman Torchwick home with his tail between his legs!" Yang reached over and put Ruby in a headlock. "Oh, I'm so proud my baby Sis is growing up!"
"Yang! Cut it out!" Ruby immediately began to try and break out of Yang's headlock, quickly dissolving into an impromptu "fight" between the two sisters. Izuku sweatdropped at this act.
'So this is what it's like having a sibling, huh?' looked on for a moment before looking to his right at Izuku.
"Hey! What is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?!" Weiss said as she came over in her nightgown, her hair let down from its ponytail.
Then Weiss recognized the three guilty party members, and Yang and Izuku seemed to recognize her too, since they all yelled, simultaneously, "OH, NOT YOU AGAIN!"
"Shhh! Guys, she's right, people are trying to sleep!" Ruby tried to get them to calm down.
"Oh, so now you take my side." Weiss antagonized her for a second time.
"I was always on your side! We both were, right Izuku?" " Ruby yelled back.
"E-er, can we please just-" Izuku tried and failed to put out the fire between them.
"Yeah! Why're you being so mean to my sister?! She's only trying to be nice!" Yang antagonized Weiss back.
"She's a hazard to my health." Weiss huffed with her arms crossed.
"YOU OVER THERE. PLEASE QUIET DOWN, OTHER PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP! SO IF YOU WISH TO ARGUE, DO SO IN THE MORNING!" The five teens looked over to see the blue-haired boy with glasses Izuku and Ruby had run into earlier with Jaune. The young man was currently wearing pajamas with blue and white vertical stripes, along with a matching sleeping cap. Weiss turned to look one last time at Izuku before sighing and turning back to the teen with glasses.
"Apologies, things just got a little out of hand, Tenya." With this, Weiss and the now named Tenya walked off in separate directions.
"Those meanies would know each other." Ruby said to herself.
"They aren't wrong, we should all go get some rest." izuku said
"Good idea, let's head back to our stuff Ruby, Izuku you coming." yang said
"Oh right it's was nice to meet you Blake" Izuku said
Blake blew out her candle and got into her sleeping bag
"We do have an empty spot next to us. I hope you don't mind sleeping next to girls" Ruby said
"N-n-no not at all thank you" 'Crap! What should I do? I've never slept next to anybody before, less girls' then Ruby bonked him on the forehead hard. "Ow, what was that for Ruby?." Izuku exclaimed, rubbing his now sore forehead.
"For practically disappearing on us don't worry us like again" Ruby pointed her index finger at him for emphasis.
"Okay,okay i won't" Izuku consented.
The three then walked over to where Ruby and Yang were sleeping, and Izuku set up his sleeping bag at a medium distance from Yang, so as not to be rude or seem disinterested. Then as he was settling in he heard "So Greenie, why're you so toned?" Yang asked as she teasingly put her finger on his arm, still being the introvert that he was immediately turned redder than Ruby's cloak from the touch and flinched away embarrassment.
Yang chuckled a little bit. "Hey, it's just a question. But seriously though, how did you get this fit?".she asked
"...Ten months of pure hell on the face of Remnant" Izuku hesitated before answering her question.
"Seriously?!"
"Yeah. That's all I can really say about it without getting flashback" Izuku shivered as he remembered some of the workouts Toshinori made him go through.
"Why'd you go through all that?" Yang asked as if it were no big deal.
Izuku hesitated for longer on this one. Should he just not answer her or give her a filtered version of the truth he didn't really know her, and even if he did,he still has no idea how she would react to something like that.
So, filtered truth it was.
"It was the only way I could begin to use my Semblance properly."
"Ooooh. Well okay. I mean when you put it like that it makes a lot more sense. Goodnight Greenie" Yang said as she rolled over to face her sister and was out like a light with a small bubble coming from her nose.
Izuku thought the whole display was smiled at her sleeping form before laying in his own sleep facing her in the less than a foot space between them. "Goodnight,Yang,"Izuku said as he went to sleep.
As Izuku closed his eyes for the night, he felt the feeling of intense nervousness from this morning creep back into his mind. Everyone else he'd met today didn't seem exactly like pushovers. He already knew Ruby was talented with her weapon, and her sister was likely above her in skill level. Weiss probably got the best training money could buy. And that's not to mention he was a couple feet from the daughters of Taiyan-
'No!' Izuku mentally scolded himself. 'I've spent almost a year training with Toshinori. I can't let myself get distracted by anyone else! I made a commitment to become a Huntsman, and I'm gonna do just that. I've come too far to fail!"
"I can do this!"
so it is my bday and tomorrow i well post the next chapter